Climate change is destroying vital polar bear habitat, putting the species at risk of extinction, the U.S. government said today as it listed the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
However, the decision does not represent the decisive victory environmentalists have been pushing for.
Interior Department Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said dramatic declines in sea ice over the last three decades were responsible for decreases in polar bear populations, which are projected to continue. However, he said it would be "inappropriate" to use the protection of the bear to reduce greenhouse gases, or to broadly address climate change.
Echoing language used repeatedly by the Bush administration, Kempthorne said, "Any real solution (to global warming) requires action by all major economies for it to be effective."
As a result, he said he would take administrative and regulatory action to make sure the decision to list the bears is not "abused to make global warming policies."
Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope criticized the administrative rules as "riddled with loopholes, caveats, and backhanded language that could actually undermine protections for the polar bear and other species."
Clayton Jernigan, an attorney for Earthjustice, said Kempthorne made clear steps would be taken to avoid interfering with offshore oil development in waters where bears and oil drilling are expected to coexist.
Read the full AP report.
